Shattered Pearls
by Tiggercat12
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy mission. Get in, find the crystal, get out. No one expected a monster, and no one expected what followed.


Note: this is according to my headcanons, not actual canon.

Also, I apologize immensely for those on mobile

"Garnet, are we almost there? It feels like we've been in this stupid tunnel forever!" Amethyst complained. The Gems were on a mission to obtain a special gemstone from deep within a cave and it hadn't taken long for the purple Gem to start whining.

"It's only been a few hours," Garnet answered from the front as Pearl grumbled behind her. Amethyst groaned and kicked a rock which hit Pearl's foot. As soon as the taller Gem turned around, Garnet stepped between them. "Not now." The two glared at each other for a few moments before continuing on their way.

Steven ran a bit ahead, much to Pearl's dismay, and looked around the rocks. Pearl hurried after him, fussing about how he should be more careful, while Amethyst scoffed and Garnet inwardly sighed. Then she suddenly halted, telling the others to be quiet.

"What is it?" Amethyst asked, appearing beside their leader. "I didn't hear anything."

"I did."

Everyone fell quiet, standing stock still for a few seconds. Then Garnet continued, motioning for the others to follow, judging that whatever it was had passed. They soon came to a large cavern illuminated by giant glowing mushrooms and crystals.

Steven gasped and said, "This is so cool!" before running over to a mushroom. Pearl chased after him again while Amethyst just groaned and started to look around. Garnet stayed where she was however. Something didn't feel right…

A rumble suddenly shook the room, causing dust to fall from the ceiling on top of the Gems. It soon stopped, and all looked to Garnet, expecting some sort of answer. She just shook her head and shrugged. Another rumble came a moment later and Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven regrouped around Garnet.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Pearl fretted, looking around uneasily. "I think we should go."

"No, we're fine as far as I can tell. Those rumbles have been going off since we entered the tunnels."

"Yes, but they haven't been this loud before."

"We have a mission to complete, Pearl."

"Yeah, Pearl, stop being such a worrywart!" Amethyst chimed in. Pearl snorted and turned away from the purple Gem. With a satisfied chuckle she went off with Steven. Garnet just sighed.

"Pearl, do not let her aggravate you. Focus on your objective."

"…Yes, Garnet."

Pearl gave one last glance over the shoulder to Amethyst before walking off to look for anything that would help their mission go faster. Garnet waited a moment longer before joining the others in searching the room.

They were in the room for a good twenty minutes with no results. The tremors had also stopped, which the others didn't seem to pay much mind to. Garnet however couldn't stop thinking about it. The sudden stop put her on edge.

Then out of the silence came a screech that shook the room. A crack shot through the floor, reaching just short of the center of the room. At the far end of the cavern the crack widened, chunks of the rocky floor falling down into the black abyss. Steam began to rise out, and the rumbling continued to get louder with every passing second.

"Gems, get back," Garnet instructed, herding the others back to the tunnel. That's when another screech sounded; they all turned back to the hole to see a large creature emerging from within. It had three heads and was jet black, its scales reflecting the light of the fungi and crystals on the walls. Its long clubbed tail whipped through the air as its heads scanned the room. The creature had short legs, arms cocked out slightly to the sides, which made its body lay very low to the ground. The rightmost head had spikes running from the top of the eyes to the cheeks, with a bit of an under bite, the middle head had short spines that stopped halfway down the neck and was drooling a foul colored substance, and the last head had two long frills sticking out from the eyes. The monster's dark gemstone was placed on its chest.

"It's gigantic," Pearl said quietly as they all hid in the shadow of the tunnel. It looked as if Garnet would only reach up to the shoulders, if that. "That must have been causing all those tremors…What is it?"

Garnet stood in silence as she studied the beast which had begun investigating the cavern, searching for the intruders it was sure it had scented. As it wandered, its tail hit the wall, causing rocks to fall onto the middle head, which then snapped at the head to its left. The two heads were both knocked together by the third and they began to search again. It seemed each head had a personality of its own.

It finally dawned on Garnet what exactly they were up against and she didn't like it. This creature was among the rarest and the most deadly of the crystal monsters. It had an ability no other possessed; when a head was cut off, it could regenerate it, gaining an extra head when it did. It was difficult to kill because of this fact and was dreaded by all who knew of it. The amount of heads also prevented the use of fusions, as it would be an easier target for all heads to focus on. The more members of a party there were, the better, even though it only improved the likelihood of winning very little.

Garnet swallowed and finally answered; "It's a Crystal Hydra. I…I didn't know they still existed."

Amethyst and Pearl's eyes widened and Pearl pushed Steven behind her on impulse. The boy held onto her arm and asked, "What's a Crystal Hydra? Is it bad?"

"It's _very_ bad," Garnet said, backing further into the shadows.

"Uh, Garnet…? What do we do?"

Amethyst's voice was filled with terror as she watched the Hydra. Very few Gems that faced these beasts in the past lived to tell the tale, and those who did often lost one or more of their teammates in the process.

"We have to leave," their leader said and everyone turned and began to head back down the tunnel, keeping as quiet as possible. However, Steven accidentally kicked a rock which in turn tumbled into the wall. The clack was just loud enough to echo. The Gems began to run, but it was too late. The Hydra let out a screech that rattled the room and caused the tunnel to partially collapse, making escape impossible.

"Garnet!" Amethyst gasped, jumping back from the rocks that had nearly fallen right on her. "We're blocked! Are…we going to have to fight that thing?"

Pearl was holding onto Steven protectively as she stared at the creature in the room. The Gem was taking quick breaths, her hands shaking as she all but panicked. Steven looked up at her and said, "Pearl?" She jumped and dropped her head down to look back at him. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, um, yes," she told him. She of course was lying. She was fearing for Steven's life right now.

The Hydra screeched again and the four were forced back into the cavern as more rocks fell. The creature's heads all swung around as they ran out and Garnet and Amethyst immediately split, running in either direction as Pearl led Steven away.

"Steven, stay here," she told him, pulling him with her behind a large boulder. "You'll be safest where the Hydra can't see you."

"But I want to help!" he protested.

"No, Steven. You don't have enough control over your gem powers to fight this creature."

"But-"

"No buts, Steven," Pearl stated sharply. "You stay here, end of discussion."

He just sat down and crossed his arms. Then Pearl left him to join the others in the fight.

When Pearl joined the fray, two heads were going after Garnet while the third lunged for Amethyst. The creature was so large it hardly had to move in order to chase them. Garnet and Amethyst crossed in front of Pearl, causing one of the heads chasing the leader to stop and target the thin Gem. She yelped when the head snapped at her and ducked just in time to avoid the teeth before running.

"Garnet! What should we do?" Pearl called as she dodged razor sharp teeth and poisonous saliva (something that only this head had, lucky her). She summoned her spear and sliced at the head's snout, clipping its nostril. It reared back and gave Pearl enough time to take cover under a giant mushroom. Not a minute later Garnet managed to join her.

"All we can do right now is fight," Garnet said through panting breaths. "We have to fight and protect Steven. And we must find a way out of here as soon as possible."

Garnet left with a nod from Pearl, who followed a few seconds later. The heads were right back on them, giving Amethyst the break she needed after the two had vanished for that short amount of time.

Meanwhile, Steven was still behind the boulder where Pearl had left him. After sitting with his arms crossed for all of ten minutes he decided to peek out around the side of the rock. He saw the Gems running in circles with the Hydra's heads chasing them while they attempted to fight back. From what he could tell, they weren't doing much.

Oh, how he wished he could help._ Stupid gem_, he thought, sitting with his back to the boulder once more. There had to be some way he could help, right? But maybe it would be best to just sit still like Pearl said. He sighed and looked out again.

"Amethyst, use your whip to hold the heads steady!" Garnet called to the purple Gem. "Got it!" she yelled back before whipping one of the heads. "Hey, over here you three headed lug!"

The head that was whipped snorted and shook before turning to her. The other two followed with a little more coaxing before all three went after Amethyst. The Gem ran a moment later, turning around a pillar of stone. The heads chased after her and just seconds after they appeared around the pillar Amethyst threw her whip. The tendrils wrapped around the thin necks and held tight. Pearl and Garnet quickly joined Amethyst and helped pull the monster's heads up against the pillar.

"Now what?" Amethyst asked through gritted teeth as the monster yanked against the reigns. "We can't hold this forever!"

"Just, let me think," Garnet said after a moment. _Now what, now what, now what,_ repeated in her head over and over. Now what, indeed.

The Hydra screeched and tugged back hard, dragging the Gems along the ground a few feet. The whip strained under the pressure. "Garnet, hurry!" Pearl gasped, her grip slipping slightly. "It's going to snap!"

Garnet looked around the cave for anything that could help but found nothing. Her attention flicked back to the Hydra as it growled, pulling with all its might against the Gems. It had started dragging them steadily so Garnet had to grab hold of a thick crystal protruding from the pillar to stop the creature's advance.

With the sudden stop one of the heads choked. It coughed and stopped struggling for only a moment before it yanked again. The other two heads joined and then all three were pulling in sync. Amethyst's whip was creaking loudly now, threatening to snap at any second.

However, it never got the chance. The gem shards on the whip had been digging into the Hydra's necks as they tried to free themselves. With one final tug from the creature the weapon pierced the hide and cut in deep.

The whip cracked back, the sudden release in pressure causing the Gems to stumble back. Silence followed as the three severed heads fell to the ground. The heads disappeared a few seconds later.

"This isn't good," Pearl whispered, cowering behind Garnet while Amethyst was holding onto her leader's leg for dear life. The smoke cleared to show the Hydra clumsily lumbering around the pillar, necks held high. It was a truly gruesome sight.

Soon the necks began to bubble. The Gems could only watch as new heads started to immerge from the purple flesh. Six new heads took the place of the three original in less than a minute. They all stared down at the three magic beings before rearing up.

"Run!" Garnet yelled as the Hydra let out a loud screech from each of its gaping mouths.

Steven ducked back behind the boulder and covered his ears. The noise left a dull ringing in the boy's ears when it stopped and the sound had given him such a bad headache that he felt like he was going to puke from the pain.

Luckily the feeling soon passed and he managed to move himself enough to look back out. He was just able to see Garnet cornered behind the Hydra's back leg as two heads tried to bite her. Amethyst was fighting back against two others while also avoiding the creature's tail, and Pearl was being chased by the remaining two heads, her spear doing little to ward them off.

Just before the boy was going to duck back Pearl ran by. One head continued to follow her but the other stopped short, smelling the air. Steven quickly curled up in the shadow of the boulder in hopes to not be seen, but to no avail. The head chomped down on the boulder Steven was hidden behind, turning it into powder. The boy screamed and started to run, trying to get to a safe place again, but the creature hurried after and cut him off.

A collective "Steven!" was shouted as the three Crystal Gems realized what had happened. All three tried to get away from the heads attacking them as to rescue Steven, but being that Garnet and Amethyst still had two heads only Pearl managed to get to him.

The head that had gone after the boy lifted up, its shadow looming over the terrified child on the ground. In a final effort to get away and help, Pearl threw her spear. It stuck in the eye of her attacking head allowing her to run to Steven as it tried to shake off the spear, now half blind.

Just as she got close the Hydra lunged. Pearl was just fast enough to push Steven out of the way, but wasn't able to jump back in time to avoid the teeth. The monster's jaw clapped down around her before she even had time to react.

With something in its teeth, the head all but forgot about Steven. The boy watched in what seemed like slow motion as it lifted its head up high. It shook once before throwing its head to the side, opening its huge jaw as it did so, tossing Pearl away.

She hit the wall and fell. The head that threw her turned away once no movement was detected and Steven ran. He ran as fast as he could to reach Pearl, focusing only on her and hoping she was alive. He practically fell to the ground when he finally got to her side. There was blood everywhere and she was barely breathing. "P-Pearl?"

She didn't give any recognition to hearing his voice and Steven started to panic.

"Guys! Pearl's hurt! Like, really bad," Steven shouted at the others. He turned his attention back to Pearl, holding her hand gently. The Gem's eyes opened slightly at the touch, but refused to focus on anything, an almost lifeless shine to them. The bite from the Hydra had left a multitude of punctures in her side, blue blood staining her clothes and spilling onto the ground, collecting in a puddle. Several cuts adorned her face and arms and she looked paler than she usually was. Steven didn't even know that was possible.

Amethyst looked over at the call and ran to the two, but not before whipping one of the Crystal Hydra's heads away (Some of the Hydra's attention was stolen by the believed kill, the heads trying to get at the killer, the separate minds now somewhat targeting each other, distracted by the scent of blood on the other's mouth). When she saw Pearl lying on the ground, she called for Garnet, voice cracking as she did so.

"Enough of this," the leader practically growled, catching the Hydra's attention. Every head turned to face her as its clubbed tail was grabbed and pulled back. Several of the heads went to attack her, but she hit them all away with one arm, the other latched onto the creature's tail. The fact that six heads were all targeting one prey item didn't help the beast, as they all fought with each other to get to her.

With the heads preoccupied, Garnet started dragging the creature backwards, step by step, until she spun, lifting the monster off the ground and throwing it into a large stone pillar covered in crystal shards. It took almost all her strength and energy to accomplish this and as soon as the creature left her fingers Garnet was down on her hands and knees.

The Hydra slammed against the column and fell to the ground, blood dripping from the punctures it received by the crystals, some of which had broken off and were stuck in the creature's hide. Each head let out an enraged shriek and the monster made to attack. However, the vibrations caused by the collision with the column traveled to the ceiling, rattling and knocking lose large stalactites.

The creature lunged, but stopped short when a stalactite crashed down in front of it. It veered to the side to go around, but screeched a second later as another stone spear fell and pierced its back. It slumped to the ground as the Gems watched, dust billowing up around it. Several more stalactites fell and crashed into the creature's back and one even severed several of its necks. Then it exploded, letting out one last scream, before its gem rolled across the cave floor.

Garnet completely ignored the monster's gem, instead forcing herself to stand and run over to Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst. Once there, she kneeled down and inspected Pearl's gem, gently brushing her fingers on it. A few moments later she took her hand away. "No…"

"Garnet…what…what's wrong?" Steven asked, looking at the Gem. He glanced at Amethyst, pain the only thing showing on her face. "Will she be okay? She has to be okay…right?"

Garnet sighed and said, "Steven…her gem…it's…"

"Cracked."

The three looked at Pearl as she croaked out the word. She coughed, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, before she spoke again. "A Gem's stone cracks on its own…when their time is coming to an end…"

"A gemstone cracked on accident or in battle can be fixed," Amethyst continued quietly. "But if a Gem is fatally wounded, it cracks by itself and…and there's nothing you can do." She covered her face with a hand as she started to cry, barely able to get her last words out; "T-his was supposed to b-be a simple mission…you ne-ver should have gotten hurt…"

A hoarse chuckle came from Pearl. "It's okay, Ame…"

The purple Gem looked up. Pearl hadn't called her that in years. She really _was_ leaving…

A sob escaped Steven as he looked at the others. "There has to be something we can do," he said desperation sharp in his voice. "We can't let her die!"

"There's nothing we can do," Garnet stated. "Or else, we'd already be doing it."

"It's okay, Steven…" Pearl said, placing a shaking hand on his cheek. "I'll be okay."

"No! You won't, you…" He was unable to choke out the words. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen. "This is all my fault…"

"Steven…you couldn't do anything to stop it," Garnet said gently. "Please, don't put any blame on yourself."

Pearl took her hand away from Steven and folded both on her chest. "Everyone…listen," she said, voice quiet and hoarse. "I've lived long enough…I didn't think I would die so soon in Steven's life, though…for that, I am sorry."

Steven grabbed her hands and said, "Stop it! You can't leave. You can't! There's so much we still have to do."

The Gems all watched him as he cried. Then Pearl took her hands away again and slowly forced herself off the ground. She couldn't get very far though so Garnet helped her, placing a gentle hand on her back for support. Pearl gave her a grateful look before turning to Steven.

"Listen, Steven," she said as her gem began to glow faintly. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. I planned to, but sometimes…plans fall through." She coughed again and Garnet carefully laid her back down.

Amethyst wiped her eyes, which achieved little as the tears continued to fall, crawled over to Steven, and hugged him. "There's nothing we can do now, bud," she said softly, rubbing his arm. "I'm sorry…"

"Steven, don't be upset," Pearl whispered. Her gemstone's glow had gotten much brighter now and the others had to turn away slightly. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling, hands folded over her stomach again.

"Good bye, everyone," she said, voice barely audible. "I'll miss you…I love you all, remember that."

She closed her eyes as the light from her pearl flashed. The others quickly shielded their eyes, blocking the light with their arms. A tink sounded as the light faded, faint glitters lingering a few seconds after. The ground in front of them was now completely bare; no Pearl, no blood, just a cracked gemstone, which Steven picked up with shaking hands, his sobbing beginning again.

"Pearl…"

"…She's with your mother now, Steven," Garnet said, slowly standing up. "It's time to go."


End file.
